Who doesn’t like dogs? We all love them. Some people are even crazy about these furry pals. Dogs have become an important part of our families and we cannot imagine our lives without them. We would do everything for our best friend – our dog.

Dogs love to show their love towards us. They are always happy to see their owners when they come back home. They are also ready to protect their family, so we often hear stories about heroic dogs.

The mutual love between dogs and their owners has been proven by a study carried out at the Northeastern University in Boston. The department in charge of researching violence, conflict and other similar psychological relations proved that people even share a deeper connection with their dogs than with other people.

The study was carried out on around 250 people between the age of 18 and 25. They concentrated on the empathy of a dog owner towards an adult, a baby and their dog.

The owners were given fictional stories where a person abused a toddler, an adult, a dog, and a puppy. At the end of every story, a policeman found the tortured people and animals unconscious with deep cuts and broken legs. The culprit was not found afterward.
The stories triggered more empathy of the owners towards a dog and a baby than towards another adult.

The main researchers were pretty surprised by their discovery even though it is normal for people to be more sympathetic to innocent victims such as toddlers and puppies. Additionally, a person might see a dog as a simply larger puppy that is as helpless as a baby or a puppy.

On the other side, adults are seen as independent living beings that are able to protect themselves in comparison to animals and babies.

The researchers also added to their conclusion that this sympathy applies to all other parts such as rabbits or cats.

Source:  Business Insider